Russia, China Strategic Economic Partners: Kasyanov

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, August 20, 2002

Russia, China Strategic Economic Partners: Kasyanov

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Russia and China have firmly established strategic economic partnership, Mikhail Kasyanov, Russia's Prime Minister, said in an interview with RIA Novosti and the Beijing-based daily, Renmin Ribao, before a visit to China.

A seventh of regular bilateral prime-ministerial summits will come against the background of spectacular progress made by Russo-Chinese commercial and economic partnership.

Bilateral trade has been steadily skyrocketing for two years, and its turnover struck a record-breaking US$10.7 billion mark last year. This year's first six months sent it another 20% up to $5.5 billion. The situation promises another record beaten by the year's end, said the Premier.

He pointed out an impressive progress of leading Russian-based companies' activity in contacts with China to exemplify it with Russia-China petroleum mainline construction, Gazprom Co. contribution to blueprinting a Tarim-Shanghai trans-Chinese gas mainline, and progressing all-round partnership in aluminium industry.

Foremost Chinese-based companies have lately displayed mounting interest in closer links with Russia. Exports/imports are rapidly increasing, with machinery accounting for an ever-larger part. Same about Chinese investment in Russian communications and telecommunications, timber industry, oil and gas production, and partnerly research and technical efforts.

As Mr. Kasyanov meets at the negotiation table with Zhu Rongji, his Chinese counterpart, they will work for steady and predictable long-term partnership, he said.

The Russian Prime Minister intends to come out with a number of practical initiatives on lucrative projects-in particular, for Russian aircraft exports to China, joint ventures in automotive industry, and closer contacts in electric engineering.

He expects the host side to reciprocate with lucrative offers in many fields of bilateral partnership.

Both countries' economies are market-oriented now, and the two governments are to promote beneficial terms for business, stressed the Premier.

Regrettably, exhaustive information occasionally cannot be obtained about tentative partners and either country's legislation. That is a bad obstacle to progress of bilateral trade and economic contacts. All means from special publications to computerised information are necessary to close the gap, said Mr. Kasyanov.

At present, Russia's Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, and China's Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation are working together for a Russo-Chinese Internet site on trade and other economic contacts.

Financial settlements between partners are another vital issue. At present, a majority of settlements have to go through banks based in third countries-an unwieldy arrangement which makes supplies overly expensive and labour-consuming, remarked the Premier as he called for active bilateral teamwork to establish direct contacts between the two countries' banks.

The transport infrastructure cannot yet cope with challenges of the day, and frontier checkpoints are not efficient enough.

Those and other problems are to be settled as soon as possible to promote the progress of bilateral partnership, whose potential is great enough.

Russia looks forward to effective team efforts with related Chinese agencies to ensure close compliance with Russian immigration laws, Mikhail Kasyanov said emphatically.

The Renmin Ribao interviewer asked the Prime Minister to comment apprehensions voiced by certain Russian-based media outlets. They are warning about tentative bilateral partnership in the workforce market to badly tell on politics.

Those are vain apprehensions. All negative consequences can be prevented if the Russian immigration legislation is closely complied with, replied Mr. Kasyanov.

As he pointed out, unorganised commerce accounts for a major part of Russian imports from China. Coming through dwarf companies based in both countries, such commodities are all too often below technical and sanitary standards. To make the matter worse, that form of commerce skips customs regulations.

That is all the more regrettable as the underhand business torpedoes the reputation of Chinese commodities in Russian consumers' eyes, though things made in China are usually of high quality, and go at reasonable prices.

It is high time to get that economic field into order. Russia and China fully agree on that point. The matter is hopeful now that Russia is drafting a new Customs Code, and its government is thinking hard how to streamline exports/imports by private persons.

Other measures will be taken, too, to get such commerce on a civilised footing. To ban it is the last thing Russia intends to do, reassured the Prime Minister.

The issue has a social aspect alongside economic, and vitally concerns many small entrepreneurs in both countries-and those persons have to be reckoned with, he pointed out.

Source: RIA Novosti

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